After what seemed to be an easy game morphed into a tense, seesaw affair, the Brewers pulled out a 7-6 victory over the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates, who have taken on some water (6-11 in the last 17 games) in their quest to win the National League Central.

Ramirez played a big role in the victory by collecting four hits and driving in four runs, providing a glimpse of the run producer the Brewers would have had in the cleanup spot if not for ongoing knee issues.

And it all began on a sour note when Ramirez grounded into a double play in the first inning with the bases loaded and no outs.

"That's why you can't get too mad, because it's a long game," said Ramirez, who is getting his timing back after a second monthlong stint on the disabled list. "You've still got a few at-bats left and you never know what's going to happen later."

Ramirez began to atone for that first-inning DP in the fourth inning when he crushed a one-out homer to the deepest part of the field in left-center. It was the 350th home run of Ramirez's career, which began here at Three Rivers Stadium.

"That was 1998," said Ramirez, whose first career homer came off Brewers left-hander Scott Karl. "I was a teenager, 19 years old. Not anymore. I'm an old guy now."

The Brewers knocked lefty Jeff Locke from the game with three more runs in the fifth. Scooter Gennett scored from second on a two-out hit by Jonathan Lucroy, barely getting around the tag of catcher Russell Martin with a wide slide and swipe of the plate.

Ramirez followed with a two-run double that made it 5-0 and the Brewers seemed en route to an easy night. Then came the play that turned the game in the bottom of the inning and knocked starter Kyle Lohse out of his rhythm.

With two down and one on, pinch hitter Felix Pie sent a drive to right-center. Norichika Aoki seemed to have time to get to the ball but reached out at the last minute and didn't stretch far enough, the ball caroming off the end of his glove for what was ruled a run-scoring double.

"At the last moment, the lights just caught my eye," Aoki said through translator Kosuke Inaji. "I should have caught it."

For whatever reason, that opened the floodgates against Lohse. Jose Tabata smacked an infield hit up the middle and Neil Walker blasted a long homer to right to make it a one-run game.

Asked if Lohse lost his focus after Aoki failed to corral the third out, manager Ron Roenicke said, "Oh, yeah. I don't think there's any doubt about that. I don't think he did necessarily for the (next) batter but as the inning went on, yeah."

Lohse didn't mention losing concentration but did regret the pitch he made to Walker.

"It was supposed to be a cutter in but it just didn't get there," said Lohse, who surrendered a career-high 13 hits in 51/3 innings. "You give them extra chances, then you make a mistake. I was trying to make pitches and they kept finding holes. Not much you can do about it."

Aoki took responsibility for the Pirates getting back in the game, saying, "I feel bad for what I did to Kyle and this team. They can gain momentum at any time and they actually did at that moment. These mistakes bug me more than not getting a hit."

After that, the teams traded runs. Pie singled in the tying run in the sixth, sending Lohse from the game. The Brewers went ahead, 6-5, in the seventh on Ramirez's two-out single. Pittsburgh retaliated in the bottom of the inning when Pedro Alvarez lined a homer off the right-field foul pole off Rob Wooten, the first long ball he has allowed in the majors.

The Brewers countered in the eighth off Bryan Morris, with pinch hitter Caleb Gindl snapping the tie with a sacrifice fly. Brandon Kintzler pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, but Jim Henderson had to escape a two-on, one-out jam in the ninth to record his 12th consecutive save (22 overall) and keep the Brewers perfect (49-0) when leading after eight innings.

"I like what we're doing," said Roenicke. "Offensively, I thought that was an outstanding performance. That was really good. We're competing; the young guys are getting after it."

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